Stil, it was so dul that after about ten hours that first day, Fred produced a deck of cards and started playing solitaire. That was more interesting than watching the same mistakes over and over again, so I mostly watched him.
After about another twelve hours - we were inside again - I nudged Fred to point out a red five that he could move over. He nodded and made the change. After that hand, he dealt out the cards to both of us, and we played rummy. We never spoke, but Fred smiled a few times. No one ever looked our way or asked us to join in.
There were no hunting breaks, and as time went on, this got harder and harder to ignore. Fights broke out more regularly and with less provocation. Riley's commands got more shril, and he tore off two arms himself. I tried to forget the burning thirst as much as possible - after al, Riley must have been getting thirsty, too, so this couldn't last forever - but mostly thirst was the only thing on my mind. Fred was looking pretty strained. Early into the third night - one more day to go, and when I thought about the ticking clock it tied my empty stomach into knots - Riley cal ed al the mock fights to a halt.
"Round it up, kids," he told us, and everyone moved into a loose half-circle facing him. The original gangs al stood close together, so the practicing hadn't changed any of those al iances. Fred put the cards in his back pocket and stood up. I stood close to his side, counting on his repulsive aura to hide me.
"You've done wel ," Riley told us. "Tonight, you get a reward. Drink up, because tomorrow you're going to want your strength.
"
Snarls of relief from almost everyone.
"I say want and not need for a reason," Riley went on. "I think you guys have got this. You've stayed smart and worked hard. Our enemies aren't going to know what's hit them!"
Kristie and Raoul growled, and both of their companies fol owed suit immediately. I was surprised to see it, but they did look like an army in that moment. Not that they were marching in formation or anything, but there was just something uniform about the response. Like they al were part of one big organism. As always, Fred and I were the glaring exceptions, but I thought only Riley was even the slightest bit aware of us - every now and then his eyes would scan across where we were standing, almost like he was checking to make sure he stil felt Fred's talent. And Riley didn't seem to mind that we weren't joining up. For now, anyway.
"Um, you mean tomorrow night, right, boss?" Raoul clarified.
"Right," Riley said with a strange little smile. It didn't seem like anyone else noticed anything off in his reply - except for Fred. He looked down at me with one eyebrow raised. I shrugged.
"You ready for your reward?" Riley asked.
His little army roared in response.
Chapters 12
"Tonight you get a taste of what our world wil be like when our competition is out of the picture. Fol ow me!"
Riley bounded away; Raoul and his team were right on his heels. Kristie's group started shoving and clawing right through the middle of them to get to the front.
"Don't make me change my mind!" Riley bel owed from the trees ahead. "You can al go thirsty. I don't care!"
Kristie barked an order and her group sul enly fel behind Raoul's. Fred and I waited until the last of them was out of sight. Then Fred did one of those little ladies first sweeps with his arm. It didn't feel like he was afraid to have me at his back, just that he was being polite. I started running after the army. The others were already long gone, but it was nothing to fol ow their smel . Fred and I ran in companionable silence. I wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he was only thirsty. I was burning, so he probably was, too.
We caught up to the others after about five minutes, but kept our distance. The army was moving in amazing quiet. They were focused, and more... disciplined. I kind of wished that Riley had started the training sooner. It was easier to be around this group.
We crossed over an empty two-lane freeway, another strip of forest, and then we were on a beach. The water was smooth, and we'd gone almost due north, so this must have been the strait. We hadn't passed near any residences, and I was sure that was on purpose. Thirsty and on edge, it wouldn't take too much to dissolve this smal measure of organization into a screaming free-for-al .
We'd never hunted al together before, and I was pretty sure that it was not a good idea now. I remembered Kevin and the Spider-Man kid fighting over the woman in the car that first night I'd talked to Diego. Riley had better have a whole lot of bodies for us or people were going to start tearing each other up to get the most blood.
Riley paused at the water's edge.
"Don't hold back," he told us. "I want you wel fed and strong - at your peak. Now... let's go have some fun."
He dove smoothly into the surf. The others were growling excitedly as they submerged, too. Fred and I fol owed more closely than before because we couldn't fol ow their scent under water. But I could feel that Fred was hesitant - ready to bolt if this was something other than an al -you-can-eat smorgasbord. It seemed like he didn't trust Riley any more than I did. We didn't swim long, and then we saw the others kicking upward. Fred and I surfaced last, and Riley started talking as soon as our heads were out of the water, like he'd been waiting for us. He must have been more aware of Fred than the others were.
"There she is," he said, waving toward a large ferry chugging south, probably making the last commuter run of the night down from Canada. "Give me a minute. When the power goes out, she's al yours."
There was an excited murmur. Someone giggled. Riley was off like a shot, and seconds later we saw him fly up the side of the big boat. He headed straight for the control tower on top of the ship. Silencing the radio was my bet. He could say al he wanted about these enemies being our reason for caution, but I was sure there was more to it than that. Humans weren't supposed to know about vampires. At least, not for very long. Just long enough for us to kil them.